Wednesday 9 October 1940

Wednesday 9 October 1940

London and airfields bombed.

Weather: Cloudy in the Channel with rain in northern France and the Straits of Dover.

Main Activity:

Targets in Kent and London were again on the Luftwaffe’s agenda and from 11 a.m. until 1.15 p.m. 120 Bf 109s flew in. By 2.20 p.m. they had returned in greater numbers.

Between 160 and 180 aircraft were involved and the damage they did to some of the airfields was as serious as that inflicted during August and September.

Over 400 Hurricane and Spitfire sorties were flown. Nine German planes were destroyed for the loss of one British fighter.

In Berlin, meanwhile, Göring had consulted the calendar. As his Luftflotten were preparing for their night raids on Britain he issued directives for heavy attacks on London during the next full moon. The moon was then in its first quarter, which meant London could expect some exceptionally noisy nights from about October 15th.